ORIGINAL: JD and Beastlet
............... In the meantime, I've been doing a lot of virtual flying with Phoenix and I'm very happy with it. It took awhile but now I'm used to reversing the controls when flying towards myself, and my takeoffs and landings have improved a lot. More recently I've been flying with the wind in the sim set at the maximum recommended for the Super Cub, so I'm getting more used to real world conditions, including upwind takeoffs and landings.
I'm glad I've found this forum and I look forward to hanging around.
Good choice on Phoenix and getting a lot of what looks to be 'planned out' flying process on your sim first.
While you can always hear of folk raving as to how good the Phoenix flight physics are for heli's in some of the heli forums I belong to (my primary aircraft is a nitro heli, though I do have a .61 powered 65" trainer 'plank' as well), I actually found I got more from Phoenix when it came time to learn how to fly a plane.
It's a great tool to learn on, and will get you further along a lot faster than had you not brought a good sim .... it'll also save you an absolute fortune in crashed aircraft when your trying to push the envelope a little down the line - I'd HATE to think of the real world value of all the aircraft I have crashed in Phoenix (I think my house would cost a LOT less - LOL).
Lastly, while it is a GREAT and very accurate tool, it's not exactly like flying your real plane (each has it's own separate 'feel' re setups), so for your first few flights it would still be a good idea to get a helping hand form an experienced pilot (with a buddy box setup) until your happy with your plane and how it really flies (and that you know you can land it), as I personally found even a little difference in expected feel can be a little offsetting when your still green.
Best of luck with your future flying!